Eynsford Village Hall, which was built in 1905, has increasing structural problems that threaten its closure on safety grounds.
The hall Trustees and the Parish Council have obtained planning permission to build a new, versatile, energy-efficient hall on Harrow Meadow including parking and a re-orientated football pitch.
The hall Trustees, along with the Parish Council, have also obtained planning permission to demolish the existing hall and replace it with three houses to enhance the value of the site in readiness for going to the market.
Eynsford requires a hall that surpasses the current requirements to increase community participation in the future.
The existing football pitch requires improvement to enable children, women & those with special needs to use it. Currently it is on a slope & used only by men.
The Trustees have therefore launched a `Rescue and Renewal’ project. It has five objectives:
To reconfigure the football pitch - The new pitch will be rotated by 90 degrees, this makes room for the new hall and a pitch which will be laid level.
To build the new hall - which will be modern, long lasting, flexible in use, have a low carbon footprint and be economical to run. The new site will allow for 30 new car parking spaces.?
To extend the uses of the hall - it will support facilities not only for existing users but also new services highlighted by the local population in the village surveys.
To improve the carbon footprint - The new building will be modern, easrier to adapt to different needs & cheaper to run with a low carbon footprint, air source heat pumps, photovoltaic pannels, low energy lighting, low u-value glazing/fabric, high air tighness and low water flow restrictors, passive summer cooling & ventilation & summer overheating mitigation. Electric Vehicle charging will be provided in the new car park in support of the Parish Councils ongoing green aspirations for the village as a whole.
An analysis of fuel for the existing hall indicates that the gas and electricity CO2 emissions are 10.3 tonnes per annum.
Through the fabric enhancements and technologies employed in the design of the proposed hall this reduces to 1.7 tonnes per annum. This is an 83% reduction in carbon footprint for the ongoing use.
